Parliament may be shut down and debates carried out over SKYPE to help halt the spread of coronavirus
- Sir Lindsay Hoyle held talks with England’s Chief Medical Officer to discuss plan
- MPs yesterday suggested holding debates by video link and using ‘E-voting’
- SNP’s Carol Monaghan fears that MPs could bring infection back to Parliament
The Houses of Parliament could shut their doors or allow MPs and Lords to vote remotely in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus.
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has held talks with England’s Chief Medical Officer to discuss plans for if the outbreak gets worse.
MPs yesterday suggested holding debates by video link and introducing electronic voting so politicians do not need to travel to Westminster.
There are particular concerns about how the virus could affect members of the House of Lords, who have an average age of 70. More than a hundred peers are over 80 years old. The disease has been found to be more dangerous for older people.
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has held talks with England’s Chief Medical Officer to discuss plans for if the outbreak gets worse
At Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday, the SNP’s Carol Monaghan raised fears that MPs could bring the infection back to Parliament from their constituencies.
She said: ‘Every week 650 of us come here from every part of the UK, spend several days operating in close proximity and meeting people from all over the world, and we then return to our constituencies, potentially becoming the very vectors that we are trying to shut down.’
In response, Boris Johnson said: ‘The chief medical officer and the chief scientific adviser, together with the Health Secretary, will be saying a little bit more in the next couple of days about what we are going to do to delay the advance of coronavirus – in Parliament and in other large gatherings.’
There are particular concerns about how the virus could affect members of the House of Lords, who have an average age of 70
At Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday, the SNP’s Carol Monaghan raised fears that MPs could bring the infection back to Parliament from their constituencies
The Prime Minister’s spokesman said: ‘Discussions are already taking place with parliamentary authorities and scientific and medical advisers.
‘I’m sure Parliament will be led by the advice of the experts in terms of taking the steps it needs in order to protect the people who work there.’
A Parliament spokesman added: ‘We are monitoring the situation closely and continue to work with the Department for Health and Public Health England.
‘We have taken a range of precautionary measures including placing information posters across the Parliamentary Estate encouraging thorough handwashing.’
It is understood the Commons has now used more soap in the last week than it normally does in a month.